What do to for a drippy water heater...

 

Dear Hardware Guys,

I love your column! I have a question, its kind of silly because I haven't even investigated much yet, but we have the old-fashioned radiator heating system. The one in our bathroom leaks all over the floor.  could this be as simple as a leaky pipe, or something else?

Thanks!
Emily

 

Dear Emily,

Your leaky radiator may be caused by the air vent halfway down the side opposite the steam inlet valve.

If you have steam heat, this air vent acts like a breather to let the air out of the radiator as the steam rushes in. Sometimes the air vent doesn't shut off after the steam hits it, and some of the steam escapes through it and condenses on the cold air vent and drips out.

You may want to try a new air vent. For more information on steam heating you might want to try this web site www.heatinghelp.com.

Good luck,
The HardwareGuys